Queen Victoria Feels no Pain

Women giving birth in the modern era owe a great deal of gratitude to Queen Victoria, although these facts are not widely known. However, were it not for her, it is possible that stigmas surrounding pain relief in childbirth might still exist.

But before we explore this, we must first discuss some of the early history of anaesthetics.

It’s hard to imagine a world without anaesthetics. We use them liberally in almost every facet of medicine, from the simple insertion of cannulas, to keeping people unconscious on the operating table for hours at a time.

So it may surprise you to learn that while the history of surgery is almost as old as medicine, the concept of anaesthetics has only been around since the nineteenth century.

Bad Blood

In 1817 the death of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, George IV’s only legitimate child and George III’s only grandchild-heir sent the British monarchy into a spin. George IV’s three younger brothers suddenly realised that they would be tasked with the responsibility of preserving the lineage.

While George IV had twelve other healthy children all were illegitimate.

Alexadrina Victoria was born on the 24th May 1819, the first and only child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. At the time of her birth she was fifth in line to the throne after her three uncles and father. Her father, aged 51 at the time of her birth, died a little over six months later. (3)

It’s possible that that his late-life decision to reproduce resulted in a genetic heritage that continues to haunt the royal houses of Europe today.